Books for Prep | |
 - GRE woredsThe best part is the master list. Once you know the words, you don't really need the strategy. I know that there are some additional master word lists on the website, but you probably won't need them as this book covers well enough. Rating:  - Did not prepare me enough - don't believe the reviews!I used this book (and the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE) to prepare for the PSY GRE. I knew both books cold, and scored extremely highly on all the included practice tests. I have taken a few PSY classes but was not a PSY major, so I relied on the prep materials (especially since they were highly reviewed here) to help get me a good score on the exam. I took the test today and there were a TON of topics that I'd never seen before, that were definitely not covered by the prep books. I expected to see a few things I didn't know, but I wound up skipping a lot more questions than I'd thought I would. All the students I spoke with afterwards said the same thing -- that the exam was way harder than they'd anticipated, and that their test prep did not prepare them for the exam. I had anticipated finishing in under two hours, but it took me the full exam period -- and it took every single other person in the room the full exam period as well. This goes against what I'd heard about previous versions of the exam, so my guess is that ets is getting wise to the test prep books and using alternate material for the exams. (Hey, it's their perogative!) Anyway, all in all I was "OK" prepared for this exam and will probably get an "OK" score, but I made the mistake of relying too heavily on the prep book. I used Kaplan's prep book as my primary preparation for the General GRE and got very high scores, so I anticipated the same experience with the PSY GRE... my bad. Different test, I guess. Rating: - The Princeton Review vs. KaplanI studied from two books: The Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE and Kaplan's GRE Psychology. I never had a psychology class in college - I'm a chemist - most of this was new. But I scored an 800 on the test, apparently, 99th percentile. Here were my impressions: Kaplan - Much more thorough than Princeton Review's; it was very dense and seemed to try to touch on every concept that might be a question on the test. This can be a bit overwhelming and certainly confusing, as I noticed numerous typos, contradictions, and other errors that sent me to the web for clarification and correction. The book's organization is poorer for review than The Princeton Review's, so keep your own notes and keep them organized. Cracking the GRE - I enjoyed the presentation and the organization of the material. It was straightforward, covered the basics, and clean with upbeat, if cheesy, dialogue and photos. It made it easier to learn, but left out a lot that was in Kaplan. This is a quick review for someone without much time, but NOT for someone, like me, who knows nothing about psychology. Both books contained some information not found in the other (this was more true for Kaplan than "Cracking"). Also, there were questions on the test wholly unrelated to anything I'd studied in either book. I suspect then, no prep book can prepare you completely for the test. Likewise, the books' sample tests will not reliably predict your performance, since the questions on the books' practice tests rarely require knowledge not supplied in the books. If you're crunched for time, just get Kaplan's book and move on to "Cracking" if you've mastered the first. If you're really crunched for time, say a week or two, just go for "Cracking". But if you have the time, get both books. I found they supported each other and I learned enough to score better than most. Read "Cracking" first to get the test material straight in your mind, then Kaplan to fill in the gaps. In taking book practice tests, and the official ETS one (an absolute MUST since it seems more difficult), don't get too upset if you don't have a clue on some questions. I skipped about 5 questions on the actual test and I guessed on at least 10 more and I still did well. Good luck. Rating:  - Not Fancy, But ReliableThis text features concise information printed on telephone-book like paper. This aside, my GRE Psychology subject test scores were excellent. I used this book along with six months worth of steady study time and am extremely pleased with the outcome. If you've had undergraduate courses in clinical, abnormal, developmental, experimental, and social psychology, then this book is good as a stand-alone test preparatory tool. If, however, you lack any of the above courses or want some extra reassurance come test day, then I'd suggest studying with an undergraduate general psychology text as well. Rating: - Very helpful review-impossible to cover everythingI found Kaplan's Psychology review to be easy to get through and an effective study aid. The chapters were divided by subject matter and covered all major topics. It was a good refresher for those who studied psychology previously. I also used an introductory psychology text book, which I would recommend if you have time. I was disappointed that there were quite a few typos, some of which made the material confusing or contradictory. The questions in the Kaplan book were fairly indicative of what you find on the actual exam and my practice scores were in line with my actual score. At the last minute I also bought REA's book of practice exams which were very different from the actual test. The two provided by Kaplan were sufficient. It is impossible to cover everything that could be on the exam, and even using both the Kaplan book and a text, I found there were concepts on the exam that I either was not familiar with or had not studied in these books. However, I felt very prepared overall for the exam after extensive studying of this book and would highly recommend it. In association with Amazon.com | |